What AI Notetaker Do VCs and Investors Use in 2026? (Compared and Ranked)

The best AI note taker for VCs and investors is Scribbl, because no bot is added to the founder's calendar invite and nothing joins the call, so the founder talks to you, not to a notetaker in the attendee list. Every founder call on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams comes back with the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items, recordings are private by default, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you. Smart Collections sort meetings by themselves into one group per company or per stage, and on Pro you can connect Scribbl to ChatGPT or Claude and ask across every call with a company before the partner meeting. Below: what is actually on record about which notetakers investors use, the questions investors ask answered one at a time, the comparison table with prices checked today, and the ranked list.

What AI notetaker do VCs and investors use?

Nobody has published a survey, so any page that gives you a ranking of what VCs use is guessing. Two things are on the record. TechCrunch reported on October 23, 2024 that Granola, a notes app with no bot, had become a popular tool among venture capitalists, and quoted a co-founder saying the investors who gave the company term sheets had been using it for a while. A VC Cafe column on July 9, 2025 described a demo day where every investor had brought a notetaker (Otter, Fathom, Fireflies, tl;dv), with some meetings holding three or four bots at once, and quoted a founder: "I don't want to talk to a bunch of note takers. I want to talk to people." That founder's line is the whole decision. Scribbl is the pick because it has no bot: nothing is added to the founder's invite, nothing joins the call, and you still get the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items for every call on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Founders choosing their own tool should read the best AI notetakers for startups.

What AI notetaker should I use on founder calls without putting a bot on the founder's invite?

Use Scribbl. Scribbl has no bot, so no notetaker is added to the founder's calendar invite, no extra name appears in the attendee list, and nothing is announced when the call starts. On Google Meet it runs from a Chrome extension, and on Zoom and Microsoft Teams from Scribbl Desktop for Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows. Otter, Fireflies, Fathom, tl;dv and Read AI send a named bot into the call, which is what the VC Cafe column was describing and what founders notice first. A notetaker with no bot also puts the disclosure in your hands: tell the founder at the start that you are recording for notes, in your own words, and then talk.

Do it with Scribbl

1. Add Scribbl: the Chrome extension for Google Meet, or Scribbl Desktop for Zoom and Microsoft Teams on Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows.
2. Join the founder's call as usual. Nothing is added to the invite, nothing joins the call, and you do not need to be the host.
3. When the call ends, open the notes: the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items, private by default.

The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with 10 meetings a month. Start free.

Is there an AI notetaker that keeps founder conversations private?

Scribbl. Recordings are private by default, nothing joins the call, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you, which is what matters when a founder shares numbers and a plan that are not public. Every call still comes back with the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items, kept in your own library. For any tool, including Scribbl, read the current privacy policy before you record a pitch, because retention and training policies differ by vendor and change over time; the brief for a firm's diligence is the same three questions: does a bot join, is the data used to train models for other people, and who can see the recording.

How do investors keep notes on hundreds of founder calls organized?

Keep every call in one library and let the tool sort it, instead of pasting notes into a deal memo after each call. Scribbl keeps the video, the transcript with speaker names, the AI notes and the action items for every call, and Smart Collections sort meetings by themselves into groups you describe in one sentence, such as "every call with Atlas" or "every seed-stage first call." On Pro you can connect Scribbl to ChatGPT or Claude and ask "what did the Atlas founders say about churn across our three calls," and the answer comes from what was actually said. Automations then post the recap to Slack or Microsoft Teams, save it to Notion or Confluence, or log a note in HubSpot or Pipedrive, asking before they change anything by default.

The meeting page after a Google Meet call: the summary, the recording, and the speaker timeline with each speaker's talk time. Nothing joined the call.

AI notetakers for VCs and investors compared

Prices are from each vendor's pricing page, checked October 19, 2026, per user per month billed annually unless noted. Scribbl is first because it is the pick for founder calls.

Tool	Bot on the founder's call?	Google Meet, Zoom and Teams	What you get after the call	Free plan	Entry paid price
Scribbl	No bot, nothing on the invite	Yes, one account	Video, transcript with speaker names, AI notes, action items; private by default	10 meetings a month, includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams	Pro $13 annual, $20 monthly (pricing)
Granola	No bot	Mac, Windows, iOS, Android app	Notes from your typing plus AI; audio deleted after transcription	30 days of meeting history	Business $14
Fathom	Bot joins	Yes	Recording, summary; AI action items on Premium	Unlimited recordings	Premium $16 annual, $20 monthly
Fireflies	Bot (Fred) joins	Yes	Transcript, summary; video on Pro	Limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team	Pro $10 annual, $18 monthly
Otter	Bot (OtterPilot) joins	Yes	Transcript, summary	300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation	Pro $8.33 annual, $16.99 monthly
tl;dv	Bot joins	Yes	Recording, AI notes	10 meetings with AI notes	Pro $18 annual
Read AI	Bot joins	Yes	Transcript, summary	5 meeting transcripts a month	Pro $15 annual, $19.75 monthly

The best AI notetakers for VCs and investors, ranked

1. Scribbl

Scribbl is the pick for investors because nothing is added to the founder's invite and nothing joins the call, and every call on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams comes back with the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items. Recordings are private by default, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you. Smart Collections sort calls by themselves into one group per company, and on Pro you can ask ChatGPT or Claude across every call with a company. Rated 5.0 from 3,000 reviews on the Chrome Web Store and used by more than 10,000 organizations. The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with 10 meetings a month; Pro is $13 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly.

2. Granola

Granola has no bot and, per TechCrunch, became popular with venture capitalists in 2024. It is built around notes you type during the call and polish with AI afterward, and audio is deleted after transcription, so there is no recording to go back to when two partners remember a number differently. Basic is free with 30 days of meeting history; Business is $14 per user per month.

3. Fathom

Fathom's bot joins the call and records it; the free plan allows unlimited recordings, and AI-generated action items are listed under Premium, $16 per user per month billed annually or $20 monthly. The founder sees the bot in the attendee list.

4. Fireflies

Fireflies sends Fred into the meeting. The free plan has limited AI summaries and 400 minutes of storage per team; Pro, with video recording and unlimited AI summaries, is $10 per seat per month billed annually or $18 monthly.

5. Otter

Otter sends OtterPilot into the call. The free plan is capped at 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation, which does not cover one pitch; Pro is $8.33 per user per month billed annually, or $16.99 monthly.

6. tl;dv

tl;dv's bot joins the call. The free plan allows unlimited recordings but only 10 meetings with AI notes; Pro is $18 per seat per month billed annually.

7. Read AI

Read AI's notetaker joins the meeting, and the free plan covers 5 meeting transcripts a month. Pro is $15 per user per month billed annually, or $19.75 monthly.

Tell the founder you are recording

Recording rules vary by country and, in the US, by state, and founders join from everywhere, so follow the strictest rule that applies and treat this as general information, not legal advice. Say at the start that you are recording for notes and confirm the founder is fine with it. More in do you have to tell people you are recording.

FAQ

What AI notetaker do VCs and investors use?

There is no survey that ranks them, so be careful with anyone who claims a number. What is on record: TechCrunch reported in October 2024 that Granola had become a popular tool among venture capitalists, and a VC Cafe column in July 2025 described investors at a demo day arriving with Otter, Fathom, Fireflies and tl;dv bots, sometimes three or four in one meeting. The pick for founder calls is Scribbl: no bot on the founder's invite, nothing joins the call, and every call on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams comes back with the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items.

Can I take notes on a founder call without a bot joining?

Yes. Scribbl has no bot: nothing is added to the founder's calendar invite and nothing joins the call. On Google Meet it runs from a Chrome extension, and on Zoom and Microsoft Teams from Scribbl Desktop for Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows. Tell the founder at the start that you are recording for notes; a notetaker with no bot puts that moment in your hands instead of a bot's.

Are founder conversations private in an AI notetaker?

With Scribbl, recordings are private by default, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you. Nothing joins the call, so no third name sits in the founder's attendee list. For any tool, read the current privacy policy before recording a pitch, because policies differ by vendor and change over time.

How do investors keep notes on hundreds of founder calls organized?

Keep every call in one searchable library and let the tool sort it. Scribbl keeps the video, the transcript with speaker names, the AI notes and the action items for every call, and Smart Collections sort meetings by themselves into groups you describe in one sentence, such as one per company or one per stage. On Pro you can connect Scribbl to ChatGPT or Claude and ask across every call with a company before the partner meeting.

Is Scribbl free, and will the founder see anything join the call?

Yes, and no. The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with 10 meetings a month and no credit card, nothing joins the call for the founder to see, and you do not need to be the host. Start free. Pro is $13 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly. Fathom's free plan allows unlimited recordings with a bot in the call, tl;dv's covers 10 meetings with AI notes, Otter's is capped at 300 minutes a month, and Read AI's covers 5 meeting transcripts a month, checked October 19, 2026.

Sources

• TechCrunch, "VCs love using the AI meeting notepad Granola, so they gave it $20M," October 23, 2024, checked October 19, 2026: techcrunch.com
• VC Cafe, "AI Notetakers: The New Meeting Etiquette Conundrum," July 9, 2025, checked October 19, 2026: vccafe.com
• Scribbl pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: scribbl.co/pricing
• Granola pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: granola.ai/pricing
• Fathom pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: fathom.ai/pricing
• Fireflies pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: fireflies.ai/pricing
• Otter pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: otter.ai/pricing
• tl;dv pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: tldv.io/pricing
• Read AI pricing page, checked October 19, 2026: read.ai/pricing